Summary: Set early season two. Ronon is just starting to become acquainted with Atlantis and its people, but there's already one person who he can't keep his mind off of. Lorne/Dex

Response to challenge 'Unknowing' posted by ParisLove27 on Atlantica: "It has to be Lorne/Dex, but Lorne can't know that Dex is hitting on him! At least not yet! Tell me how he reacts (either good or bad-I don't care!) and what happens!"

A/N: This is probably as close to a crack!fic that I will ever get. I would never have written this under normal circumstances, but when I ran across this challenge my sleep deprived mind couldn't resist. It was just screaming to be written. I tried my hardest to keep Ronon in character, but obviously certain things had to be changed, and he came out a bit like a love-struck teenager… If you find this pairing bizarre, trust me, you aren't half as weirded out as I am. And I wrote it!

This is a bit of an experiment as I wrote each scene out completely from each character's perspective. The first bit is from Lorne's and the second from Ronon's. Hope you enjoy!

The metal floor vibrated slightly each time his foot made contact, creating a small 'clunk' noise that echoed off the walls surrounding the improvised running track. Evan Lorne's chest was heaving as he tried to keep pace with the man running beside him. He'd been a little surprised when the Satedan had asked him to join him on his morning run, but had agreed readily wanting to become better friends with the alien. Lorne chastised himself for use of that word; Ronon was just another guy after all, despite the fact that he had been born and raised on a different planet.

Lorne slowed to a stop, his sides burning. Ahead he saw his running partner stop as well. "Sorry Ronon." He said sucking in the slightly chilled air. He bent over, his hands on his knees, his legs felt like a substance close to Jell-O. "I need to stop."

"I'm tired too."

Lorne looked up. The guy wasn't even sweating, but then again he was a runner.

"You do this every morning?" Lorne asked, clutching his sides.

"Yeah" Ronon shrugged, "helps me relax."

Lorne stared at him, this was relaxing?? "Guess I'm out of shape." He said feeling stupid as he panted and Ronon stood quite at ease.

"You do better than Sheppard."

"Really?" Lorne felt good about that, he could dangle it over the colonel's head next time he got too cocky. He turned to survey the room, taking in the metal walkway they were standing on and the crossbeams that ran along it. He hadn't been up here before and though the view wasn't much it was an interesting piece of architecture. He turned back to Ronon, intent on filling the awkward silence that had suddenly developed. There was a flash of something and then Ronon was making an extremely odd face and rubbing his head. Not sure what had happened Lorne tried to ignore it and asked, "Settling in okay?" He had heard rumors about a certain incident involving a marine.

Ronon made a noncommittal noise then said slowly, "Some people are nicer than others."

"Most people on Atlantis are really friendly once you get to know them." Lorne replied, trying to figure out what was going on behind the Satedan's stony mask.

There was a brief silence then Ronon said, "This was fun."

It took Lorne a moment to realize what he was talking about, then he gave a small laugh. He wasn't sure that running until you thought you were going to pass out was one of the things he classified as 'fun'. However, as much pain as he was in he told Ronon that he had had a good time and meant it too.

"Race you to the commissary?" Ronon grinned at him, his stance showing he was ready to take off again.

Lorne, on the other hand, was quite surprised he was still standing up and responded, "Only if you want to carry me to the infirmary afterwards." Lorne saw an odd expression flit across the tall man's face, but then it was gone and he was being patted on the shoulder.

"Come on Major, let's get you something to eat."

It was an extremely welcome suggestion as Lorne had skipped breakfast to prevent puking it back up later when he was running his heart out. "Call me Evan." He told Ronon and was rewarded with a smile.

XXXX

Ronon Dex felt his heart beating quickly against his chest. He knew, however, that his rapid pulse had little to do with the physical exercise he was performing. He glanced at the dark haired man jogging next to him and slowed slightly making sure he didn't outstrip him, something he could do quite easily. Silently he thanked Teyla, who had had the idea of inviting Lorne to go running with him in the first place. Usually Ronon disliked running inside, he was used to the feel of wind against his skin and grass under his feet. But today he barely noticed the metal flooring hitting his boots.

Suddenly he noticed that the military man was no longer next to him and skidded to a halt. He turned to hear Lorne apologizing, he was bent over, breathing heavily. Ronon took that time to notice how beads of sweat clung to the tips of the man's short hair, how the man's heaving back muscles stood out against the fabric of his t-shirt every time he drew breath.

Lorne's head snapped up at this, surprise etched across his face… apparently not so convincing. "You do this every morning?"

"Yeah." He shrugged, trying to act like it wasn't that big of a deal. "Helps me relax."

Lorne was staring at him, he wondered if there was something on his face.

"Guess I'm out of shape."

Ronon didn't agree with this at all and was about to say he thought Lorne was a perfect shape before he caught himself and said instead, "You do better than Sheppard."

"Really?" Lorne was smiling and Ronon swelled, knowing the lie had been worth it.

Lorne's head had swiveled to look around. Ronon quickly slid a concealed knife out of his dreads, checking his reflection in the blade. His companion turned back around causing Ronon to quickly stick his knife back into his hair, poking himself slightly. He winced, but tried to look casual as he massaged the back of his head.

Luckily Lorne didn't seem to have noticed anything odd and asked how he was settling into Atlantis. Ronon felt a flash of anger, remembering how he had knocked in the head of an extremely insolent jarhead. He tried to answer that it was okay but it came out as more of a grunt. He felt the flames of anger within him die as Lorne's gentle brown eyes studied him. "Some people are nicer than others." He told him, meaning one person in particular.

"Most people on Atlantis are really friendly once you get to know them."

Ronon knew this already, and he also knew he wanted to get to know Lorne much better. "This was fun," he started, trying to find the words to ask if they could do it again some time.

But before he was able to ask, Lorne laughed. Ronon became angry again thinking that Lorne was laughing at him. The anger left as quickly as it had come, however, when Lorne said, "I had a really good time."

"Race you to the commissary?" Ronon asked playfully.

"Only if you want to carry me to the infirmary afterwards."

Lorne had meant it as a joke but Ronon had a sudden flash of holding Lorne in a much different context. He shook his head to clear it then clapped the still panting man on the shoulder, "Come on Major, let's get you something to eat."

"Call me Evan." Ronon smiled.

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